Musica Universalis

Grizzly Bear
(with Dirty Projectors)
Lee's Palace, Toronto
Tuesday 7 Feb 2007


Grizzly Bear is four dudes who all part their hair in the same direction. I suspect this may be akin to the way groups of women cohabiting for a long period of time end up with synchronized menstrual cycles. There are common particles, some sort of subatomic vibe talent beams flying back and forth between founder Ed Droste and his bandmates. These Brooklyn skinny boys are living proof that holing up together in yer ma's old house in rural Massachussets with nothing to do but collaborate on your collective penchant for dense, swelling suites of blissy psych can be a very fruitful pursuit. Also: sandwiches and lemonade!

Dirty Projectors took the stage early Tuesday evening, delivering a set of bravely aggressive vocal harmonies and instrumentation that made as much use of silence as it did precise fingerpicking. David Longstreth is a bold and booming vocalist, and the performance took full advantage of his band's rich ensemble backing vocals. This band begs comparison to a more free-jazz Animal Collective, with a nod to the vocal acrobatics (though not quite the falsetto) of Antony Hegarty. A must-see live in order to get the most out of their music -- most definitely warrants further listening. Dirty Projectors have a new disc, Rise Above, out on Western Vinyl later this year.

Grizzly Bear modestly sauntered out a short time later, and the capacity crowd settled down considerably in anticipation, save the usual crowd of yammering jackasses in the back. Much applause. Despite the fact that I was thoroughly impressed by Grizzly Bear the last time I saw them (early 2005, supporting Great Lake Swimmers), I wasn't prepared for the feeling of awe that came rushing back about a minute into Easier, the set opener. These boys are one tight musical unit, and the sheer density and layering in their music is a testament to the all-but-lost sense of subtlety and nuance in the majority of modern music. Prior to the show, I had some concerns about the Bear being able to reproduce the warm, organic sound that permeates Yellow House in its entirety. Thankfully, those concerns were unfounded. With minimal banter (save Ed playfully name-dropping his favourite Toronto spots: "Rotate This record store...") and absolutely no stage antics, the band still easily managed to floor me once again. Additional highlights: Knife, On a Neck, and a very noisy and surprisingly rockin' new tune apparently called Final Round.

Set List (thanks to suckingalemon on stillepost.ca):

• Easier
• Showcase (?)
• Lullabye
• Knife
• Final Round
• Little Brother
• Colorado
• Shift
• He Hit Me (?)
• Fix It
• On a Neck, On a Spit

Also: Watch the new video for Knife. TRUST ME.

And: Click here to purchase Yellow House from Insound. Click here to purchase New Attitude from Insound.

*Tour Poster respectfully borrowed from www.grizzly-bear.net*